SPEECH 




OF 


CALDWELL, 


! I 


OF GUILFORD, 


ON TUB 


CONVENTION QUESTION, 


DELIVERED IN TUB 



GREENSBORO!) G-H, N. C: 
PRINTED AT THE “ PATRIOT ” OFFICE. 

1852. 









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Mr. Speaker : Having had the good fortune to secure the 
floor at last, I would, even at this late hour, most respectfully 
crave the indulgence of the House for a short time, while I 
proceed to submit a few remarks on the all-absorbing question 
now before u^for discussion. I ask this favor more cheerful¬ 
ly, because I am sure that the views I entertain on this sub¬ 
ject are not only misunderstood by some, but grossly misrep¬ 
resented by others. Under these circumstances, I hope no 
one will suffer himself to prejudge or censure me for anything 
I may say on this occasion, until he has heard the conclusion 
of my remarks. This courtesy can be well afforded by the 
members of‘both political parties; for I assure them, one and 
all, thus publicly, that it is no part of my purpose to speak as 
a partizan on this question. No, sir, no ! If I should say 
anything in this debate about parties or sections, it will be 
because I shall have to answer the arguments of those who 
support the course of little truckling politicians, who, for par¬ 
ty purposes, have already sunk this question down to the low- 
-est depths of the filthiest seivers of party ; and not because I 
have any desire in my breast to make it a party question. 
No, sir.'- Oh! no. I have no such disposition whatever. If 
I know anything of my own heart, and of the motives that 
prompt me to action this day, I earnestly, ardently desire to 
see this question separated, or rather divorced, and that too, 
forever, from party and party politics. And, had I the pow'- 
er to accomplish it, I would at once, and that without ceremo¬ 
ny, remove the one from the other, as far as the cast is from 
the west, or the north pole lies from that of the south; and as 
high above all local and sectional jealousies, as the sun now 
rides above the centre of the earth. 

1 repeat it, 1 appear before you to-day, not for the purpose 
of making a speech for Buncombe or for Currituck ; for party 
or for self. No, sir; I occupy the floor, at this time, for no 
such purposes. I desire to speak upon this question, if I can 
do it, as becomes a patriot and a statesman ; or to blend both 
in one word, as a true-hearted son of the Old North. State 



4 


should speak at the present time : for, let others say what they 
may, I know that I am a North Carolinian in heart, sympa¬ 
thy and feeling; and by this triple cord will I ever be bound 
to her, let fate and destiny do with and forme what they may. 
I trust I shall never prove so ungrateful, as to forget the blood 
and prayers with which she was baptized and consecrated to 
the cause of Republican Liberty. Nor will my views and 
heart ever become so narrow and contracted as to look to, and 
find room for but a section of my native State. No, sir—nev¬ 
er, never shall that be the case— while there can be found 
space in my heart for part , there will be for all , and for no 
less than all. 

Mr. Speaker, this language may seem strong—but I assure 
you there is no deception in it. Every sympathy of my heart 
twines round and clings to my old mother, and will do it, 
while a heart throbs in my bosom, though humble she be. 
Yes, every atom of her soil; her tinkling rills and gushing 
fountains; her broad lakes, deep sounds, and sweeping rivers; 
her fertile vales, smiling lawns, green hills and blue moun¬ 
tains—all, all have their charms for me, and should have for 
every one that beathes-her blessed air or exults in her invigo¬ 
rating sunshine—for I conceive that they are each but a part 
of that glorious inheritance that has been bequeathed to us in 
comiqon by our gallant forefathers. What then though I be a 
western man, am I nut also a North Carolinian? Or, lorsooth, 
because I happen to reside in the west, will any one dare to 
rise in his place and say that I have no part or lot in the east ? 
or that I cheresh no desire in mv breast to see her thrive and 
prosper, in common with the whole State? Or will any one 
be so uncharitable as to suppose, for a moment, that I would 
he base enough to w r rong any one section of the State to bene¬ 
fit my own, because I differ with him in opinion? If there be, 
that individual does me a great wrong by harboring such a 
thougt. I am no sectionist in my feelings. I repeat it again, 
I claim to be a North Carolinian ; and as such I look upon 
Beaufort and Washington, Ncwbern and Wilmington ; aye, 
sir, and your own Fayetteville, as mine. Yes, sir, all mine, 
as North Carolina is mine, by birth and inheritance. 

Entertaining these views, it is but natural that I should be¬ 
come somewhat incensed, and feel indignant when I see gen¬ 
tlemen calmly rise and coolly charge the advocates of an open 
Convention on this floor, with being illiberal in their view's, 
and selfish arid sectional in their motives. These insinuations, 
how'ever, have no terrors for me. I intend to discuss the vari¬ 
ous questions involved in this matter without fear, favor or 


5 


affection. And if gentlemen will continue to make charges 
-< that are groundless in themselves, then sir, I shall feel no 
compunctions of conscience whatever, I assure you, in hurling 
back to the very teeth of those making them, all such slanders, 
with as much contempt.and indignation, as I am capable of 
exercising, come they from what quarter they may. 

In making these remarks I earnestly hope that I shall not 
be understood as denying that there is any disposition to legis¬ 
late here for a section, No, sir ; I cannot if I wished, deny 
the fact, for the history of all past legislation in this State 
proves that there has been, heretofore, not only such a disposi¬ 
tion manifested, but a great power actually exercised, to effect 
this very object. Much less would I intimate that the charge 
was false as regards the lust manifested for political power.— 
No, sir, I cannot deny this charge either, and stick to the 
truth. But this I can deny, and do most unequivocally and 
emphatically, that the charges, or any part of them are true 
when made against Western men. But'why need I say this? 
Their votes on the Journals, and the patience with which they 
have ever borne oppressions and insults from the majority— 
from the day the fetate was first organized down to the present 
time—are sufficient to vindicate their character from all such 


charges, if they had no other arguments to advance in their 
favor. But I have digressed too far already to pursue these 
thoughts further at present. I shall return to the question, 
therefore, Mr. Speaker, by remarking, that the interest which 
is evidently manifested in the discussion of this question is, of 
itself, sufficient to convince us of its paramount importance. 

The truth is, the more I contemplate it, the more importance 
do I attach to it. Nor am I yet sure, sir, that 1 would be 
going too far were I to say, that the political existence of 
North Carolina, as a State, depended, to a great degree, on 
the right decision of this question. I am aware, sir, that this 
is saying a great deal h\ favor of an open Convention ; yet not 
more, 1 hope, than its true importance demands. 

And why do 1 venture to r hazard this assertion ? Simply 
upon the fact that, previous to the formation of the present 
constitution of this State, she was in a thriving and prosper¬ 
ous condition, and continued to grow in wealth, and increase 
in numbers with each rolling year and rising sun, until she 
was considered, by the wisest and best of men, to be one of 
the most thrifty and prosperous colonics on the continent.-— 
And in the dark and stormy days of the Revolution—yes, sir, 
at a time that tried men’s souls—North Carolina’s sons, our 
■sires, had the high honor of going forward as the very vanguard 


G 


of Freedom’s hosts; and after the struggle was over, of being 
considered the Banner State of this Union. The Empire State, 
the Keystone State, the Old Bay State, together with all the 
other States, (except probably Virginia,) were her inferiors 
then in point of population, wealth, territory and resources.— 
But where, ah 1 where is she to-day ? I ask this question as 
one of her sons, with some feeling, strong interest, and 
with the deepest emotions of heart. Where is she to be 
found in the year of our Lord, 1850 ? Is she still the 
pioneer that she was in 1776 ? Is it true that the Old 
North yet shines, as in days of yore, the brightest of all the 
bright stars that now compose the constellation of this great 
and growing Republic ? Oh, tell me, you who can, does sho 
still continue to lead them all in the glorious cause of liberty, 
progress and improvement? But 1 forbear. In charity let 
silence reign. No tongue need trouble itself to reply to these 
questions. No, sir—I read the answer too plainly in the 
countenances of those around me to require this to be done.— 
I see, from various indications, enough to satisfy me that 
North Carolina is not the leader that she once was ; but hath 
fallen (what a sickening thought!) from being a leader, down 
to being a follower of the other States, as a dog follows the trail 
of his master, always behind. And yet that which is more 
mortifying still is the thought, that she is still sinking lower 
and lower every day. 

Now, as it is certain that there cannot be an effect without 
a cause ; and inasmuch as we have the unmistakable evidence 
before us of a great change having been wrought both upon 
the character and position of of a Sovereign State, we take it 
for granted that there must be an adequate cause at work, 
somewhere, to produce such results as I have noticed. It is 
my purpose now Mr. Speaker, to investigate this matter more 
thoroughly than I have heretofore had the privilege of doing 
—to try if I can possibly ascertain what it is that has operated 
so disastrously to the growth and prosperity of our guod old 
commonwealth. 

Can the results I have mentioned be attributed in any de¬ 
gree to the example that our forefathers set us ? I think not. 
They were not only wise, but prudent, patriotic and persever¬ 
ing in all they undertook. Of the promptness and efficiency 
of their actions, 1 need but remark that they invariably suc¬ 
ceeded in all that they proposed to perform. So I take it 
for granted that the State lias not retrograded on account of 
any example that they have left behind them to their sons. 
No, sir, they were not the men to leave behind them an un- 


7 


worthy example. We have the high honor of springing from 
the loins of men who had too much pride and patriotism to 
disgrace their descendants, or to be trailer after othersi They 
were men in every way worthy of their country’s regard, and 
always stood ready to prove their devotion to it, as they did 
at Alamance, Ramsour's Mills, King’s Mountain, Moore’s 
Creek, and on the plains of Old Guilford, when the sun of its 
prosperity was eclipsed in darkness and gloom, and her soil 
drenched to a mire in the blood of her sons. 

Then, Mr. Speaker, if it be true, as I have supposed, that 
North Carolina has not declined from this cause, what can be 
the reason ? Can it be attributed to any natural causes ? I 
apprehend not. For surely there is no State to be found in 
the bounds of this Republic, that can boast of any more natu¬ 
ral advantages that she can justly lay claim to. She has a 
larger territory than either of the great States of New York 
or Pennsylvania : and as fertile and productive a soil ; with a 
far more genial and salubrious clime than either of the other 
States of this Confederacy. And which of them is it, from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific shores, that can produce more of 
the staple articles of commerce, than can be grown here on 
our own soil. The Empire State, the Keystone State, the 
Buckeye State—all can boast of being able to raise corn, oats, 
rye, wheat, onions, turneps, potatoes, and barley ; but which 
of them, like North Carolina, can produce to any extent all 
of these, together with the great staple articles of commerce, 
cuch as rice, cotton, tobacco, tar, pitch and turpentine, indigo 
and madder, fish and lumber, with the choicest fruits and 
drinks from her trees and vines. In addition to all this, she 
ha3 the greatest water privileges of any other State in the 
Union, with one solitary exception, perhaps; while her hills 
iseem to be literally based upon inexhaustible foundations of 
marble, iron, coal, lime, silver, copper, lead and gold—and 
that which is still better, wander where you may among them, 
and you will find perennial fountains gushing over forth their 
cool and limpid waters, interspersed every now and then with 
a healing fountain running free for the poor and afflicted— 
while round their sides and on their lofty summits may bo 
found the finest sheep-walks, and the most beautiful and be¬ 
witching scenery in the world. Yet with all these great na¬ 
tural advantages, we find, from some cause, North Carolina is 
not able to keep pace with the most insignificant of the other 
States. No, sir, not even with California, that came into the 
Union unfledged, as it were, but yesterday. Even she, mor¬ 
tifying as the thought may be, has, at the first bound, leaped 


8 


/ 


far before her, and is to clay holding out more attractions to 
the world, to entice men to her far distant shores, than North 
Carolina is to her’s. Behold her stand with outstretched 
arms, breasting the Pacific, with her mines on the one hand 
glittering with the wealth of untold millions—on the other, 
look there is her Constitution, guaranteeing free and equal 
suffrage to alfthe inhabitants of earth, who may think proper 
to rest but a while on her soil. Is it marveled at Mr. Spea¬ 
ker, that foreigners from every clime under Heaven, should 
fly with all speed to such an El Dorado as this in the new 
world, where every man is placed upon the same footing, and 
mind is constitutionally valued as being worth more than mat¬ 
ter to build up, strengthen, beautify and adorn a State ? 

Here I would not be misunderstood. Leaf in mind I have 
not, nor do I intend to assert, that this feature in the Consti¬ 
tution of California has been tfie main cause of turning the 
tide of humanity thither in such a strong and rapid current 
for the last two years or more. No, sir, this is only one of 
the causes. Her rich and productive gold mines are unques¬ 
tionably the loadstones that have drawn most persons to that 
distant land of promise. Yet I am equally sure that the lib¬ 
eral character of her Constitution will induce thousands of* in¬ 
dustrious men to become permanent citizens of the Common¬ 
wealth of California, who, under other circumstances, would 
have returned again to their fatherland. This may be denied 
by some, and ridiculed by others. Nevertheless, I am satis¬ 
fied it is true. W ho can doubt it for a moment when he be¬ 
holds the rapid manner in which all the new States have in¬ 
creased in wealth and population, where they have recognized 
the principle that taxation and representation should go hand 
in hand together ? I do not mean by this that a man should 
be represented in the Legislature in proportion to the amount 
that he pays taxes into the Treasury. This would be an 
outrage that ought not to be tolerated, and is not, even in 
money making corporations. All I mean to assert is, that 
every man that is taxed should be represented in the Legisla¬ 
ture fairly and honestly. 

And I would here submit, Mr. Speaker, whether these fea¬ 
tures in the organic laivs of the other States may not be cor¬ 
rectly considered as one among the greatest of all the induce¬ 
ments that they have held out to the poor and indigent of eve¬ 
ry realm, and more especially to this-numerous class of virtu¬ 
ous and enlightened men in our own State, to leave the land 
of their birth, and the homes of their youth, with as much 
speed as if they had been chased away by a devouring pOvSti- 


9 


lerjce, to find a home in the wilderness frontiers of the new 
States, where there are no other inhabitants near them but the 
wild beasts of the forest. 

Yes, sir, in those liberal features of their Constitutions, is 
to be found the great secret of their unparalleled success and 
present glory. And here, too, if we would but read the les¬ 
son, we would see it was for the want of such provisions in our 
own Constitution, that North Carolina has declined, and is 
still declining, in population, wealth, influence and character. 
Who can doubt this for a moment, when he beholds the results 
that have followed wherever the experiment of a liberal Con¬ 
stitution has been tried ? And who will have audacity enough 
to assert here, that the people of North Carolina should not 
have as free and liberal a Constitution as any other people cn 
the face of the earth ? Who dare say those things, when we 
remember it was to secure such privileges as these that the bat¬ 
tles of the Revolution were fought, and our independence de¬ 
clared? Yet, sir, these principles have never been secured to 
the people of North Carolina, though their right to them has 
always been acknowledged, from the foundation of our govern¬ 
ment to the present time. Hut what does the poor white man 
gain by an acknowledgment of his inherent rights, when the 
Constitution of the State in which he was born, still resides,— 
and, it may be, bis fathers fought to the death for its indepen¬ 
dence—denies him, not only the right of suffrage, but that 
which is more intolerable, still the right of being fairly and 
honestly represented in its councils, though it compels him an¬ 
nually to contribute both in money and labor to the support 
of its government, and peril his life in its defence when requi¬ 
red. These are no small items on his part, and are invalua¬ 
ble to the State in the way of defence; and justice demands 
that an equivalent be given him for them. And where this e- 
quivalent is refused , is it any wonder that the masses should 
become dissatisfied, and the best energies of the State destroy¬ 
ed ? Let no one be conceited enough to fancy, that the peo¬ 
ple are so ignorant as not to understand the operations of our 
Constitution. They know well; for they have felt olten its 
hard requirements, and often indeed do they contrast the priv¬ 
ileges granted to them under tire Constitution of this State, 
and those tendered to them in the others. Here in North 
Carolina, they, nor their fathers before them, have never had 
the privilege of -forming a Constitution for themselves and 
then; posterity, like the freemen of the other States ! Conse¬ 
quently, we find that they have had little or no voice given to 
them m her legislative councils. And how mortifying must 


10 


this reflection be to every honest native born son of the State ; 
especially when he remembers the fact, that in Alabama, Miss¬ 
issippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, and in 
truth, all the large slaveholding States, the poorest emigrant 
from any part of down-trodden Europe—yes, sir, even when 
they come from Ireland, where they have heard nothing else 
scarcely but abolition preached ail the days of their lives—are 
recognised as intellectual beings , who, after a short residence 
on their soil, it will not ordy be right but proper to admit to the 
ballot-box, upon the same terms as the largest slaveholder in 
their domain. Yes, sir, thev, like most of the other States, 
let every man be heard alike at the ballot-box that they require 
to pay taxes or appear in the field when the country is inva¬ 
ded. 

These principles are not only just, but have proved to be 
highly beneficial to every community that has adopted them. 
And I assert, without the fear of successful contradiction, that 
when or wherever property is unequally represented or taxed, 
or representatives unfairly proportioned to the property own¬ 
ed and taxes paid into the treasury, as at present in this State, 
it is not only unjust, but a flagrant outrage on Republican prin¬ 
ciples, and ought to be remedied as speedily as possible. If 
this doctrine be subscribed to, then it will be admitted that the 
Constitution of this State should be amended. But, for fear 
some gentleman may think I am better at making assertions 
than I am at giving proof to establish them, I shall proceed 
to give a few facts in vindication of what I have just said. 

Eirst, That the people of North Carolina have never had 
an opportunity of forming a Constitution for themselves. If 
they have, I should like to know when it was that the people 
were called on to act in this matter? Surely no one wall con¬ 
tend that a Committee of Thirteen , appointed as they were by 
the housekeepers and freeholders of the Province of North 
Carolina, did give the people an opportunity of being heard, 
in the election of the delegates to the Halifax Convention, 
when they u ordered ” them to be chosen from the freeholders 
and by the freeholders alone , of each county, not exceeding 
five in number from each respectively , without regard to the 
number or wealth of its inhabitants , or the size of its terri¬ 
tory, with an additional delegate from each of the towns of 
Bath, Brunswick, Campbellton, Edenton, Halifax, Newberu 
and Salisbury. 

Now, sir, let me ask gentlemen around me here, of all par¬ 
ties, if there is one among them who honestly believes that 
either the people or the property of the State were fairly rep- 


11 


resented in the Convention that convened in Halifax on the 
12th of November, 1776 ? If there be one, sir, on this floor 
who entertains that opinion, I am sure he differs with me, and 
every other man I have heard express his views on this sub¬ 
ject. But, I rejoice to know, it is in my power to give other 
and much stronger proof of this fact than I have yet done. 
And I am sure I can do this by reading to you a short extract 
from a long letter written by William Hooper to Samuel 
Johnston, Esq., in which he ridicules, very sarcastically, the 
idea that Franklin, and the eminent statesmen in Pennsylva¬ 
nia, entertained of forming a Constitution in which they pro¬ 
posed giving the people more power than he thought they 
were entitled to, from the services they had rendered to the 
cause of Liberty in the tented field. But to the letter: 

u You have seen the Constitution of Pennsylvania ; Humana 
capiti crevit equina juncta, (a man’s head and a horse’s neck,) 
the motley mixture of monarchy and an execrable democracy; 
a beast without a head ; the mob made a second branch of leg¬ 
islation; laws subjected to their revisal in order to reform 
them ; a washing in ordure bg wag of purification . Taverns 
and dram-shops are the councils to which the laws of this State 
are to bo referred for approbation before they possess a bin¬ 
ding influence. It is a melancholy consideration, that public 
proceedings are now, in a great measure, the histories of those 
concerned in them, and popularity , interest, office, are the 
strong outlines which mark the production. In this instance 
they all ivork powerfully. I shall lament that any prepos¬ 
session should have taken place in Carolina in favor of the 
WISDOM in politics in this State, or that the name which 
authenticates the public acts of the Convention should have a- 
ny weight to give such a plan a currency. It is truly the 
excrement of the expiring genius of political piirenzy.” 

Thus it seems, Mr. Speaker, that Mr. Hooper thought and 
wrote from Philadelphia, on the 27th of September, 17 TO, but 
a short time before the Convention was to assemble to form a 
Constitution for the State. Now, it should be borne in mind 
that Mr. Hooper was an eastern man, of great influence, and 
spoke the sentiments of that section on all political matters. 
And to show that it was this section of the State that formed 
the Constitution of our State, I need but refer to the fact that 
there were thirty-five counties, seven towns and two districts 
represented in the Convention by 168 delegates, 125 of whom 
resided east of this spot, and 44 west; two, if not more, ot 
the latter number representing what is now the State of Ten¬ 
nessee. 


12 


Gentlemen will see by this, that, in the very commencement 
of the organization of our State government, all political pow¬ 
er was in the hands of the majority which resided in the East, 
a large majority of whom favored the views of Mr. Hooper, 
or to use the language of a descendant of one of them,— 
u they were high-toned conservatives, and urged the erection 
of a splendid government, independent oj the control of the 
mob, and of course of their boasted leader s.” In other words, 
their views of popular government were similar to those en¬ 
tertained by Mr. Hooper; and, like him, most of them no 
doubt ridiculed the constitution of Pennsylvania, as giving too 
much power to the mob , in one branch of the Legislature of 
that State ; and, taking his advice, they determined, in form¬ 
ing our constitution, that they would become such high-toned 
conservatives as to shun all such political phrenzy , by smoth¬ 
ering the voice of the mob at the ballot-box, as they chose to 
call the people. And this they did most effectually, notwith¬ 
standing there were strong exertions made by some of the 
Delegates from the West, even then, to have the Justices of 
the Peace elected by the people—Waitstill Avery, the grand¬ 
father of the gentleman from Burke of the same name, being 
one of the number who urged this all important measure.— 
And why was it, Mr. Speaker, that the Delegates from the 
VVeSt then, thought proper to press such measures on the at¬ 
tention of the Convention, as are now demanded by a majori¬ 
ty of the people of this State? It was done, sir, in obedience 
to the commands of their enlightened constituents; and they 
felt free to demand them because they had fought for them. 

' Sir, it would be worse than superlluous for me to repeat 
here again where and Juno they struggled to secure the bles¬ 
sings of a free and independent government, and all the ines¬ 
timable rights of free white citizens, though it may be profita¬ 
ble as well as humiliating for me to show how signally they 
failed to secure the object they had so much at heart. This 
can be done in a few words, as I conceive, by showing that 
the basis of representation under the old constitution was such 
as to effectually smother the voice of the people, or, as Mr, 
Hooper would have it, the mob. I use this word frequently, 
not for the purpose of trying to cast odium upon Mr. Hooper, 
or a majority of the members of the Convention, By no 
means, far be that thought from me; I believe they were 
patriotic and intelligent men, who ardently desired to do what 
they thought was right, and best calculated to bui d up a 
strong arid splendid government. But, in attempting to do 
fins, by fettering the mind of man, they were greatly mista- 


13 


ken, as the history of Pennsylvania and all the other States 
will abundantly prove. 

But, let us see what restrictions were laid on the noble- 
hearted freemen of this State, especially in the Western por¬ 
tion of it, where the ball of the Revolution was first put in mo¬ 
tion, and their right to be a free and independent people first 
ascertained and declared to the world. The Convention, af¬ 
ter deliberating for a few' moments (for I believe it w'as in ses¬ 
sion but three days) though it would be best to commence their 
labors with the acknowledgement of the fact, that all political 
power is vested in and derived from the people alone;' and 
“that the people of the State ought to have the sole and ex¬ 
clusive right of regulating the internal government and police- 
of the same. 

These are no doubt the principles upon which the Revolu¬ 
tion was conducted from its commencement to its close. And 
the Delegates to the Convention did v r ell to acknowledge them 
in the manner they have, if they did nothing more; as they 
are true land-marks to guide us in the old Republican paths. 
There is also an important lesson taught from these articles, 
which is again being verified upon this floor; and that is, that 
men may acknowledge right, and profess principles—the for 
mer of which they will never grant, if they can help it; and 
the latter violate at any time for gain. This inconsistency 
appears to have marked the proceedings of the Convention 
that formed our Constitution to a remarkable degree.—For, 
after acknowldeging all that could have been asked or desired 
by the people, they seemed to have turned right round and 
formed a Constitution on such principles as to violate the two 
first and funda mental sections of the Bill of Rights, that they 
themselves had just formed. And to prove this beyond cavil, 
I shall now proceed, as I have just promised, to notice, as 
briefly as possible, the basis upon which representation was 
fixed by them. 

The State at this time, Mr. Speaker, was, as I have before 
remarked, divided into 35. counties, 27 of which were east of 
this place, and 9 only, I believe, w T est. These counties were 
each allowed three Representatives, be they large or small, 
rich or poor, sparsely or densely populated, it mattered not; 
each was allowed three members, and some of them four, when 
they had a small town in their borders. This arrangement 
not only showed, great contempt for the people, by making the 
counties the basis of representation, but it was exceedingly 
oppressive to the large counties of the v'est, as their people 
were forced to travel many miles to and from court, and often 


14 


to camp out for weeks at a time, while in attendance on courts 
as jurors or witnesses. In addition to this, they received from 
the State but one cent for every white inhabitant, to have the 
laws of the State administered among them, while many of 
the small counties in the east received from 15 to 20 cents 
for each free white citizen in their territor} 7- for this purpose. 
But as the people were represented by counties and not by 
numbers or property, they were compelled to submit to this 
and many other outrages with patience and in silence. In 
fact they rarely succeeded in getting a county divided, it mat¬ 
tered not how large its territory might be, or what the neces¬ 
sities of the people might require, for the simple reason that 
it would decrease the power of the East. This argument was 
sufficient to prevent any laws passing for the relief of the 
West; consequently, though there were thousands and tens of 
thousands of acres of land entered and sold in the Western 
counties, at different rates, we find no money approprieted in 
that direction scarcely at all. They sold these lands—got 
the money—and then appropriated it in the East, cleaning 
out rivers, and digging canals, and the like, where they had, 
naturally, five times the facilities to get their produce and 
goods to and from market, that they had in the counties from, 
which these large sums were mostly collected. 

Is it any wonder, then, that North Carolina has failed, 
with all her natural resources, with such a climate and such 
privileges, to advance in wealth and greatness as her other 
sisters have done.’ No, sir, the wonder is that Western North 
Carolina has not been depopulated before this. For, no peo¬ 
ple, I am sure, have ever been more oppressed, under the 
form of a Republican government, than our’s have. The 
proof is abundant, and at hand, to establish this fact; yet I 
will refer to but a few facts, which I think will be sufficient to 
satisfy the most incredulous. The first Legislature which as- 
sembled under the constitution of this State, contained 115 
members on joint ballot;—27 of this number came ftom the 
counties West of this place, while the East was represented by 
no less than 87 members. This shows that the East had, in 
the beginning, all power in the pretended councils of the 
State. And they used it as they wished, and, of course, al¬ 
ways to their own advantage, and to the oppression of the 
West. 

Mr. Speaker, I make these remarks, not for the purpose of 
creating any sectional leeling ; but because I know they are 
true ; and believe them to be important for the purpose I have 
in view'. Now, if the wealth, territory, or population either, 


15 


jiad justified such an apportionment of members, the legisla- 
tion that resulted from it might have been borne with more 
patience and composure. But this was not the case. No, 
sir—the apportionment could not be justified on either of 
these grounds, when it was first made ; and, if not, then it is 
certain it coul 1 not be at any subsequent period : for it grew 
worse and more oppressive every day, just as the West in¬ 
creased in wealth and population, until we find, by the census 
of 1880, the following to be the result of population and rep¬ 
resentation in the State. The State was then divided into 64 
counties, 27 west of Raleigh, and 37 east of it. The western 
counties contained a population of 372,424 souls, who were 
represented in the Legislature of the State by 81 members. 
The 37 eastern contain 346,522 inhabitants, who were repre¬ 
sented in the councils of the State by 111 members:* Thus 
giving them a majority of 30 members, when the population of 
that section of the State was 25,902 less than that of the west. 

But here Mr. Speaker, we will take a more critical view* 

I find upon examination, that 24 small counties in the East, 
to wit: Tyrrell, Lenoir. Washington, Columbus, Hyde, 
Greene, Jones, Carteret, Camden, Chowan, &c., &c., contain¬ 
ing a population of 101,925, sent to the Legislature 72 mem¬ 
bers ; whilp 6 large counties in the West, to wit: Orange, 
Lincoln, Rowan, Buncombe, Guilford and Rutherford, con¬ 
taining a population of 106,174 souls, were allowed only 18- 
members. Thus giving the East 54 members more than the 
West, when the latter portion of the State contained a popu¬ 
lation of 4,249 souls more than that of the East. 

In addition to this, I find, by a calculation, that the ex¬ 
penses of each county to the State at that time, was precise¬ 
ly $1,270 per year; and yet, sir, Hyde, Columbus, and Tyr¬ 
rell, paid into the Public Treasury, the year 1 speak of, but 
$1,154 50 ; all three paying less than the charges of one to 
the State ; and Currituck and Carteret both added to the a* 
hove, will make the mall five still pay but the sum of $2,085, an 
amount less than Wake, and other large counties of the West 
paid. Yet the five eastern counties sent 15 members to the 
Legislature, and the county of Wake only 3. Yet this is not 
all. Unequally as Wake and other counties in the West were 
represented, that which aggravated this cruel injustice was, 
that their people were taxed to pay the Representatives from 
the East—who came to the Legislature to vote appropriation 
after appropriation to the EYst, and against everything in the 
West, even to the dividing of a County, until they have receiv¬ 
ed from the State Treasury east of this place, something the 


16 


♦ 


rise of four millions; while we have received West, not exceed¬ 
ing sixty thousand dollars. 

Is ic strange, sir, that the west should have been dissat¬ 
isfied, and that they should now be poor ? Aye, sir, do you 
not suppose western men feel, and that deeply, too, under such 
circumstances as these when they hear eastern gentlemen 
tauntingly say to them, with a smile on their countenances, 
u You are poor, and have put but little into the Treasury; 
therefore, you shall have nothing.” 

.But some may contend that this is not the language of the 
majority. Let such persons look at the appropriations in the 
State; let them look to the division of the School fund; let 
them look to the denial of the Charter of the Danville and 
Charlotte Rail Road; and then, sir, to the ruinous attacks 
that have been made on the North Carolina Rail Road—when 
two-thirds of the million necessary to secure the Charter has 
been subscribed in this City and the Counties West; and above 
all, to the quarter from which all these attacks have emanated. 
Contrast the liberality of the two sections of the State in these 
particulars, and all others, if you please, and how soon is the 
question answered, and the scale turned in our favor! 

Others may wish to know why it is, I refer to these matters, 
all of which have been compromised in the Convention we 
permitted you, with all our power, to call. I will answer 
these inquiries. My main object in referring to these things 
lias been to show, that, if the East had the power on their side, 
the West had equity, justice and right on their’s, not only to 
expect, but to demand a Convention—not such an one as the 
East thought proper to give us ; but an open and unrestricted 
Convention to alter the Constitution to suit the views of the 
people. And, sir, if we had a right then to an open Conven¬ 
tion, we have that right still, 1 or such were the restrictions 
thrown around the Convention of 1865, that it was impossible 
for it to regulate the basis of representation in this State, 
as the people desired it should be done. Yes, sir: they were 
bound to the letter, and under an oath to fix it as the majority 
in the East desired it. And how was that, Mr. Speaker?— 
Vv hv, sir, they required that the Senate should be based on tax¬ 
ation, and the Commons on the federal population, provided^ 
each County should be entitled to one member, whether it had 
the requisite population or not. Now, let me ask gentlemen 
where the Counties lie that are benefited by this provision in 
the Constitution ? If there be any, do they not all lie in the 
East? Most assuredly they do. Then what did the West 
gain by amending the Constitution ? Scarcely anything at 


IT 


\ 


all, sir, except the poor privilege of dividing a few large Coun¬ 
ties. And to substantiate this fact, I will now proceed to call 
the attention of the members of this body to a minute exami¬ 
nation of the basis upon which the Representatives of the peo¬ 
ple are now chosen—or rather, to some of the practical results 
that flow from it to freemen. 

Martin County is entitled to a Senator, under the present 
arrangement, with a population of 4,438 souls, and by paying 
into the Treasury $1,010 30. The Buncombe District con¬ 
tains a white population of 13,107, and pays into the State 
Treasury $1,997 75. Yet Martin County has as great a voice 
in the Senate as all the Western Counties in this District put 
together. 

Hertford, with a population of 3,384, and by paying into 
the Treasury $993 58, is entitled to a Senator ; while Guilford, 
with 15,891, and paying into the Treasury the sum of $3,664 
39, is permitted to enjoy the same privclege. 

Surry and Ashe, with a white population in their territories 
of 24,165, after paying into the Treasury $1,956 68, have 
the right, under the present Constitution, to be heard in the 
Senate in reply to the Senator from Onslow, who represents 
the great number of 4,675 white souls, who pay in taxes to the 
Treasury, the enormous amount of $868 91. 

In these six Senatorial Districts, which are but a specimen 
of the rest, we sec the enormity of the outrage that is com¬ 
mitted against the rights of freemen under the Constitution. 

Again, sir ; we will look at this matter in a different light. 
Suppose five farmers of the West own each 107 acres of good 
land, worth under the hammer $3.00 per acre. That would 
make 535 acres that they own and cultivate, worth $1,605. 
This much real estate, under our State laws, would have to 
pay into the Treasury $100. And, now, sir, for the sake of 
contrast, we will suppose a gentleman to reside in Hertford 
county, who owns five negroes—an old man and his wife, each 
fifty years old, with three children, the youngest a girl of 12 
years of age. According to our laws they will have to pay in¬ 
to the Treasury of the State $100 also. Consequently the 
land and negroes have precisely the same weight, voice, and 
influence in the Senate, notwithstanding the real estate is im¬ 
perishable and immovable in its character, and supports upon 
its bosom five families of 10 each, in all 50 souls, who are in 
every respect identified with the best interest of the State, and 
that which is more important, its only hope of defence in the 
hour of insurrection or invasion, I say these live farms con¬ 
tain a population of 50, from the fact that the census show 

9 , 


/ 


18 

that there is in the Western Counties of the State a popula¬ 
tion of 9 for every voter in them. Then, let me appeal to 
gentlemen, and ask them if they think it is just, that five old 
and young negroes of both sexes, that, like other mortals, are 
liable to disease and death, and who can be removed at the 
will and pleasure of the owner, not one of whom are in the 
least degree identified with the soil, or personally interested 
in the prosperity of the State, should have as much weight in 
forming the Senate, as the land, its owners, and the families, 
in all not less than 50 souls. Is there any bold enough here 
to answer—yes ? If there be I beg leave to propound to such 
a republican another question. Is it right, in his opinion, to 
give the five negroes that we have named and the owner, four 
votes in the Commons : and the land and the log cabins on it , 
which pay, as we have seen, as much tax as they do, not a 
single vote ? And those who till it, with their wives and chil¬ 
dren, whom they love and live for, only five ? Sir, i3 not this 
making five negroes and their owmer in the East, weigh down 
$1,600 worth of land in the West, and hush the voice of 45 
white inhabitants of the State ? 

Yes, sir, that is the way the Constitution of this State ope¬ 
rates. Yet the gentleman from Martin, (Mr. Mizell,) says 
the west ought to be satisfied with the Constitution as it now 
reads, as it is the result of a compromise made in 1835, be¬ 
tween the east and the west. Nevertheless he has taken es¬ 
pecial pains to tell us, that he is in favor of engrafting on it 
free-suffrage and nothing else. Aye, more sir—lie travelled 
out of his way to tell us if he had been in the Convention of 
’85, he should have voted against any change in the Constitu¬ 
tion. Mr. Speaker, my heart sickens for such a democrat as 
the gentleman from Martin appears to be ! And I am not 
surprised that he should go for free-suffrage and nothing more. 
No, sir ; nor am I at all astonished that he should be opposed 
to a Convention, if he thinks the Constitution, previous to its 
amendment, was so perfect an instrument, that it needed no 
alteration whatever. I repeat, I am not surprised that he 
should be opposed to a Convention now'. Yet, I cannot see 
how an individual, advocating such doctrine, can have the face 
to rise here, and claim to be a Democrat, Ilis Democracy, I 
fear, is of the bastard order, and he, in heart, is more of a 
despot than a republican. 

But before I leave this point of my argument, let me ask the 
gentleman to tell me, if he looks upon the Constitution, as a- 
mended in 1835, as a sacred compactor compromise between 


19 


the two sections of this State, that should ever be regarded 
by all parties as inviolable, how r it is that he has arrived at the 
conclusion that he and David S. Reid and his friends, have 
the right to alter this compromise so as to permit all men to 
vote in the election of Senators that now have the right to 
vote for Governor ? Sir, if it is a compromise, it must be 
considered such as a whole; and the moment it is violated in 
any particular, the party disturbing the compromise have no 
right to complain if their opponents wish to make other and 
different amendments from those they have proposed; especial¬ 
ly where the latter are in favor of something substantial, when 
they are striving to delude the people by giving them a shadow. 
Yes, sir, the most of them, like the gentleman from Martin, 
are willing to barter off the rights of freemen, to secure to 
them a mess of pottage ! Sir, they shall not be sold at so 
cheap a rate, if I can prevent it. I have no objection to free- 
suffrage, if they will let equality of rights go with it. And 
this the true friends of Reform will have. It is true, sir, the 
ball has been put in motion by others, and rolled on by their 
followers amidst the loudest acclamations of praise. And now 
that triumph has rewarded them for their labors and ingenuity, 
they would no doubt be willing to stop the suffrage ball. But 
as for myself, I assure you, sir, that I have no disposition 
whatever to stop it. Let it go, and ere it stops, the freemen 
of the Old North will have secured to them and their posteri¬ 
ty, the rights of freemen at the ballot box, not only in name, 
but in reality. And for the purpose of securing these rights, 
I go for an unlimited Convention—or open Convention—not 
called upon the white basis, as has been charged. No, sir, be¬ 
fore I could go for that, I would have to be assured that ne¬ 
groes would never be taxed. I go for an open Convention on 
the federal basis. Let those who favor special amendments 
by the Legislature—a mode that I detest, charge us with be¬ 
ing influenced by a lust for political power. This I deny sir. 
We are contending for principles and rights, which, though 
they have ever been denied us, in this State, are nevertheless 
dear to our hearts, as they were to our forefathers and the 
rest of their compeers in arms. And those who have been 
bold enough to make such unworthy insinuations as these,. I 
cannot but believe, from their location, and many other cir¬ 
cumstances, it is well for them, perhaps, that “Heavens 
Sovereign saves from all beings but himself, that hideous sight, 
a naked human heart/' or we might see that they are not as 
pure in heart as the angels are ; or that they advocate tree- 
suffrage per se , with the hope of being raised and elevated over 


20 


the heads of their superiors, to some lucrative office of honor 
or profit in the State. 

I have said thus much, to retaliate upon those who have 
thought proper to charge the advocates of an open Conven¬ 
tion with being influenced to such a course by a lust of politi¬ 
cal power. I was sorry to hear such a charge brought against 
us by Mr. Avery, a western man. We have been told by him, 
and correctly too, that the east loses nothing and the zvest gains 
nothing by free-suffrage. Still he advocates this great hum¬ 
bug , with a strong voice and bold heart. I would that gentle¬ 
men were as anxious to secure the rights of their constituents 
as they have manifested themselves ready to aid their party 
in practising this fraud on the west. I say the west, sir, be¬ 
cause I have proven, beyond all question, that political pow¬ 
er is not now nor has it ever been, fairly and equally distribu¬ 
ted in this State; nor can it be under the present Constitu¬ 
tion. It is the fault of our fundamental law, that has led to 
the partial legislation of which I have had reason heretofore 
to speak. Nothing can be plainer than this to my mind. I 
feel confident, if our representatives had been fairly apportion¬ 
ed among the people, from the first organization of the State, 
to the present time, and the people had the election of their 
magistrates, as many of our people desired from the first, and 
the other States granted to their people, North Carolina to¬ 
day, instead of following all the other States, would be still 
the pioneer that she was in the days of the Revolution. 

And, Mr. Speaker, I believe, as honestly as I believe any¬ 
thing, that it will always be our painful privilege to draw these 
humiliating contrasts, while the Constitution of our good and 
great old State remains unchanged. The basis on which it 
apportions the members of the Legislature is but one of its de¬ 
fects. There is another to which I have more than once slight¬ 
ly alluded, and which comes in direct conflict with the second 
section of the Bill of Rights which has been already quoted— 
that is as odious in my eyes as it is anti-republican in its char¬ 
acter. I allude to the manner in which it requires the magis¬ 
trates to be appointed, as well as to the power it gives, and 
the duties it enjoins upon them. 

Here a field opens before me for argument that I have not 
time now to occupy ; but will merely glance at some of the 
most weighty objections to this feature of the Constitution. 
These men are appointed by the Representatives of the people 
for life. They cannot be removed or impeached ; they are a- 
bove the control of their creators, and the only officers that 
have almost unlimited authority given to them over persons 


anal property. The representative who has the whole State to 
legislate for has to give an account of. his stewardship directly 
to the people. This is true republican doctrine, and it should 
be brought to bear in this State upon one who takes part in 
carrying out their internal police or government. The battles 
of the Revolution w r ere fought by our fathers before they would 
consent to be taxed by a parliament in which they were not 
represented. I bring no railing accusation against the magis¬ 
trates of the State ; for in my county, at least, I am sure they 
are high-minded, honest and intelligent men. But, notwith¬ 
standing, I contend that they should be elected from townships 
by the people, as is now the case in a large majority of the 
States. Then, sir, they will not be called on to levy taxes and 
do all the important legislation for a county, on the Tuesdays 
of Court. And when appropriations are made for county pur¬ 
poses, it will be done on better authority, and always after 
more mature deliberation than is now required; and that which 
is perhaps more important still, at a time when the county is 
not paying jurors, witnesses and others for their services and 
attendance in Court. In addition to these facts, I will here 
state that I know that the Justices of a county have it in their 
power to crush any representative if they should desire so to 
do, by acting in concert with this view when they come to 
levy the taxes for county purposes. 

To illustrate this, Mr. Speaker, let us suppose that a Rep¬ 
resentative has voted for laying a tax of five cents on the poll 
and two cents on the hundred dollars worth of property, to 
build an asylum for the poor insane of the State. And for 
the sake of illustration merely, we will suppose that this vote 
should, for some cause, give offence to the whole body of magis¬ 
trates in a county; so much so, that they were determined to 
come in contact with him in levying taxes, and forthwith should 
proceed to increase the tax on land and polls for the Common 
Schools, building a jail, a poor house, bridges, &c., until the 
tax should be increased for such purposes, something like one 
dollar and fifty cents on the poll, and fifty cents on the hundred 
dollars worth of property. Mr. Speaker, would there not be 
some grumbling about high taxes under such circumstances ? 
And who would be complained of most, do you suppose, those 
who held their office independent of the people, and all of 
whose appropriations had been confined to the county where 
the tax was laid, or would the people complain of the represen¬ 
tative who had legislated for Currituck and Cherokee as w r ell 
as his own county ? I am of opinion, sir, as they have no 
control over these magistrates, they would call on their rep- 


resentative to be careful how he increased their taxes, or they 
would discharge him from their service. And this is one rea¬ 
son why so many representatives in this Hall are so exceed¬ 
ingly careful how they vote to increase the burdens of the dear 
people. As an evidence of this fact, we find that the State 
taxes on land and polls have been seldom increased over six 
cents on the hundred dollars worth of property, and twenty 
cents on the poll; whereas the county taxes have steadily and 
gradually increased from the commencement of our govern¬ 
ment to the present time—all of which may be attributed to 
hasty and imprudent legislation on our Count} 7 ' Court Benches. 

By the remarks I have made, you will understand, no doubt, 
that I do not entertain as exalted an opinion of our present 
Constitution as to be opposed to all other changes but that of 
Pree Suffrage. On the contrary, I think it very defective, 
and am desirous of seeing it speedily amended by an open 
Convention, 

I am opposed to all special amendments by the Legislature, 
in the first place, because it will lead to unnecessary excite¬ 
ment, if not continual agitation. Should this mode prevail, 
every demagogue will be proposing amendments to the Consti¬ 
tution, especially when they are brought out as candidates for 
Governor, and are being hard run by their opponents. 

In the second place, I am sure that a Convention is not only 
the cheapest, but by far the most expeditious and unexceptiona¬ 
ble mode of amending or forming a Constitution ; and, in fact, 
the only way it can be done free from party and sectional feel¬ 
ings. And, as it has heretofore been the uniform custom of 
other States to amend in this way, I cannot see why it i 3 that 
gentlemen object to it in this instance, when I remember that 
the people of North Carolina never have had a Convention 
called for this purpose. Under these circumstances, I think 
it not only preferable, but the only proper mode in which our 
Constitution can be amended at the present time. And, be¬ 
lieving this, I shall steadily resist all amendments to the Con¬ 
stitution of the State by legislative enactment; as I firmly be¬ 
lieve this is but the prelude to what is yet to come. I say this, 
because many of the domitant party in this Hall are in favor 
now of other amendments. Yes, sir, that peculiar organ of 
party, the grave and venerable, committee on amendments to 
the Constitution, itself, have reported some three or four a- 
mendments to the Constitution. And yet they are not willing 
to have a Convention called to amend it, but prefer to hold 
back each amendment for a separate campaign, and for the es- 


pecial benefit of the Democratic party. This is too tinkering 
a business to suit my views. 

I am in favor, not only of free suffrage, but of free and e- 
qual suffrage, but I cannot vote for them in this way. I go, 
sir, as I have often repeated, for an open Convention ; and this 
the people will have, though the Democrats may use all their 
ingenuity to defeat them. When they go before them on the 
stump, they profess to be their loving and devoted friends. 
But where, Mr. Speaker, is their friendship now, when we 
hear it openly declared that it will not do to trust the people 
of the State to alter or amend the Constitution ? Ah, no, it 
will not do to trust them ; the}" will be too radical; the poor 
people of the State have too much affinity to Abolition to be 
trusted ! Alabama/Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, 
Tennessee, Maryland and Virginia, all can trust their citizens 
to hold open Conventions: those States that have the most 
slaves have adopted' the white basis ; yet their proprerty is 
safe and their people prosperous. Why, then, do the Demo¬ 
crats object to a Convention ? Is it because their strength lies 
in the East; and that they fear, if a Convention is called, that 
something like justice will be done to the West; and that 
thereby they will be shorn of some of their ill-gotten power as 
a party ? Aye, sir ; is this not the reason that we find some 
of our Democratic friends against us in this matter in the 
West ? What else could have induced them to go for the east, 
and against their own section, if it was not some such consi¬ 
deration as this ? Why should they desert the West, while 
every Whig and Democrat of the East stood up manfully to¬ 
gether for the interest of their section of the State ? This 
great and united opposition of the Democratic party, to the 
reforms desired by the people, will be hard to overcome. Yet, 
sir, the people are strong—all power is with them, and they 
will overcome it. Gentlemen may strive, and may succeed to 
some extent, in making this a sectional question—yet I rejoice 
to know it never can be made a party one. No, sir, no—the 
people, both Whigs and Democrats, will unite to a man, and, 
if need be, nominate their candidate independent of party, and 
start him down to the kill devil hills of Currituck , and bid him 
there give his banner to the breeze with this motto inscribed 
on its folds: An unrestricted Convention on the Federal basis 
—Equal Rights and Reform. And when this shall be done, 
then and there in that political Jerusalem they will bid him 
commence preaching the true republican doctrine of America, 
and as he comes, with banner flying, to preach with eagerness 
and zeal, the truth as it is held by all orthodox republicans— 


0 




182 3 


and as he comes, the hearts of all brave and true souls will be 
•with him ? and by their smiles he will be encouraged, to pass 
through our enemy on to the capital. 

This ball may meet with resistance, but, my word for it, it 
cannot be stopped. It will roll on in despite of all opposition, 
to speedy and certain triumph. • The people will soon be in 
motion ; their voice will be heard; and they will be obeyed, 
for they arc sovereign. I had as soon undertake to close the 
jaws of an earthquake ; roll back the Mississippi’s rapid*flood 
of waters with my own feeble hand; stay a tornado in its 
flight; or awe the growling tempest into silence, as to under¬ 
take to persuade the people to accept free suffrage and free 
suffrage alone. They will'not accept of any such boon ; they 
know their rights, and now they intendsto have them. * Let 
Governor Held, or any one else, mount this hobby again, and 
he will stand up as courageously and as long as the dry stub¬ 
ble docs before the devouring flame ; and his voice will be 
heard and headed about as much as the rattling of a leaf when 
the bellowing thunders roar. He will be chased as the chaff 
of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing be¬ 
fore the ivhirlwind. And behold at evening-tide there will be 
trouble, and before the morning he will not h.e. This shall be the 
portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us. 

But tell me, Mr. Speaker, how will it be with the People’s 
Candidate, after he leaves the Western door of this magnifi¬ 
cent edifice V They will gather around him wherever he goes, 
and bear him up and on in triumph, like the strong waves of 
the ocean bear the light foam on their bosom, and, when he 
shall have reached Old Cherokee, the honest, pure-hearted 
and industrious freemen of the West will there crown him 
with the rich and enduring crown of their gratitude, wreathed 
with laurels and amaranth that shall neither dim, wither, nor 
fade away, while the loud shouts of victory will be sent up 
from their proud hearts so strong that they will run round 
their mountains, and along their vales, sweeping over the 
plains, till the old Atlantic’s angry waves shall mutter all 
their shouts, in echoes back again. As their wives and little 
ones shall endavor with joy to spread wider, and further still, 
“ His name in melody of songs.” 

But here, Mr. Speaker, I wtfi conclude my remarks on the subject by 
again saying, let the voice of the people be heard in forming the consti¬ 
tution; and then the good old North State will soon be redeemed, regen¬ 
erated and disenthralled from all the burdensthat have so long been pres¬ 
sing her down to the dust. And she will arise from beipgthe “ dim mi¬ 
niature of greatness absolute/' to be one of the noblest old Stales in the 
Confederacy. 


